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Bad Advice
Book

Bad Advice

Or Why Celebrities, Politicians, and Activists Aren’t Your Best Source of Health Information

Columbia UP, 2018 mais...


Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Scientific
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Following the lead of celebrities such as Jenny McCarthy, the antivaccine movement has spread the unfounded theory that certain vaccines cause autism. Activists’ success in persuading parents to reject vaccination has provoked dangerous consequences, including the first US measles outbreaks since 2000. With self-deprecating humor, Dr. Paul A. Offit, co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, recounts his battles with antivaxxers and explains how to counter them. Businesspeople, public officials and parents will welcome this refreshing antidote to the spreading disdain for expertise and scientific fact. 

Take-Aways

  • The antivaccination movement is a symptom of a general antiscience sentiment.
  • The movement demonstrates why hostility to science is dangerous. 
  • People need to better understand the scientific method.

About the Author

Paul A. Offit, MD, is director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is also the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and professor of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.


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